Salt Lake Bees 11, Chihuahuas 4
Jay Groome had a rough outing for El Paso. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Key Stats: RF Tirso Ornelas 2-for-4, HR (2); 1B Taylor Kohlwey 3-for-4, 2 2B; LHP Jay Groome 4 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 2 K, 4 BB; RHP Nick Hernandez 1 IP, 2 K; RHP Moises Lugo 1 IP, 1 H, 2 K, 1 BB
Prospect Watch: Coming off a recent hot stretch and with few other depth options on the 40-man roster, Jay Groome had an opportunity to assert himself should the big league club need another start. Instead, the big lefty gave up a four-spot in the second inning and finished the day giving up seven earned runs over four frames. The 24-year-old issued four walks, highlighting one of his biggest struggles on the year. Over 104.1 innings in 2023, Groome has walked 73, contributing to an 8.02 ERA. The walk rate is up almost 50% from his performance between Double-A and Triple-A last year. … Playing in just his second game of the series, Tirso Ornelas connected on his second Triple-A home run as part of a two-hit afternoon. The 22-year-old, who hasn’t played in back-to-back games over the last three weeks, is 5-for-21 over that stretch and has a .655 overall OPS in 21 games since joining the Chihuahuas. …Taylor Kohlwey paced the offense with three hits, including a pair of doubles. The 29-year-old is 6-for-17 since returning from his first two-week taste of the big leagues, continuing to play at first and the corner outfield.
Missions 6, Arkansas Travelers 3
Key Stats: Marcos Castañon 3-for-5, 3 2B; Korry Howell 1-for-3, 3B, BB; Justin Farmer 2-for-4, 2B; RHP Bobby Milacki 3.1 IP, 2 H, 2 HBP; RHP Kevin Kopps 2 IP, 2 H, 2 K; RHP Lake Bachar (S, 3), 1 IP, 1 K, 2 BB
Kevin Kopps works from up top on the mound. (Photo San Antonio Missions.)
Prospect Watch: The Missions got 6 1/3 scoreless innings from their bullpen and held on to claim their first series sweep under minor league baseball’s new schedule. … Bobby Milacki came on with two on in the third inning following a rough start by Jared Kollar and shut down the Travelers. The righty retired the first six batters he faced and carried the Missions through the sixth, only allowing a pair of hits. In his first year in the Padres organization, Milacki, 26, has posted a 3.22 ERA across 58.2 innings. … Kevin Kopps, who struck out two while working the seventh and eighth innings, last gave up an earned run on June 28, tossing 14 innings over his last 10 outings. While he has been charged with six unearned runs over that stretch, the 26-year-old righty has kept opponents to an average just above .200 and limited the self-inflicted damage with five walks. … At the bottom of the lineup, outfielders Korry Howell and Justin Farmer combined for three hits and a walk as each collected an extra-base hit. Howell is just 8-for-65 since returning from his second stint on the IL in July. … Marcos Castañon had three doubles on the day but somehow didn’t figure in the scoring. Since joining the Missions, the 24-year-old has a team-best .839 OPS.
Great Lakes Loons 13, TinCaps 3
Key Stats: 2B Graham Pauley 2-for-4, 2B, SB (4); DH Juan Zabala 2-for-4, HR (5), SB (7); RHP Victor Lizarraga 1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1K, 1 BB; LHP Bodi Rascon 2.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R (1 ER), 1 K, 1 BB, 1 HBP; RHP Joan Gonzalez 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 K, 1 BB; RHP Alan Mundo 1 IP, 1 H, 4 ER, 1 K, 5 BB
Victor Lizarraga was a bit rusty in his first outing off the IL. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
Prospect Watch: A pair of pitchers returning from the Injured List had rough outings as the TinCaps – in their final homage to fried pork meat on a bun – dropped the series finale to settle for a split with the Dodgers affiliate. Victor Lizarraga, making his first appearance since his best outing of the season on July 22, gave up singles to the first three batters he faced and wound up allowing three runs on four hits and a walk in his only inning of work. The 19-year-old, who hit the shelf as yet another virus rampaged through the TinCaps clubhouse, had been in the midst of a strong stretch before his illness, posting a 3.51 ERA over 41 innings in his previous eight outings. … Reliever Alan Mundo, who also got hit with the bug, also struggled in his return to action, walking five while recording just three outs. The righty from Chihuahua state in Mexico has fought command all year and has now issued 25 walks in 26.1 innings. … Righty Joan Gonzalez had the lone strong outing for TinCaps pitching, giving up just one run in three innings of work. The 25-year-old, originally from the Dominican Republic, signed as an undrafted free agent last month after two years at community college in Kansas and a pair of campaigns with Bethune-Cookman. After striking out 27% of the batters he faced in the Southwest Athletic Conference career, he’s gotten three punchouts in his first five professional innings. … Graham Pauley finished the series with another 2-for-4 game, picking up his third double of the six game set. After a .417/.440/.917 line for the week, he could be in line for some Midwest League hardware.
Modesto Nuts 3, Storm 0
Key Stats: Enmanuel Pinales 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 K, 1 BB; LHP Javier Chacon 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 K, 2 BB, 2 Balk, 2 HBP; RF Braedon Karpathios 1-for-2, 2B, 2 BB, CS; 1B Devin Ortiz 1-for-1 3 HBP
Prospect Watch: The Storm managed just four hits as they were shut out to drop their series in Modesto. Braedon Karpathios had the only extra-base hit, a double, and walked two more times to push his odd line to .194/.453/.236. He’s walked 36 times in 106 Cal League plate appearances, but has struck out an equal number of times. His other 40 plate appearances have yielded 14 hits – three for doubles. … Devin Ortiz found a unique way to reach base four times Sunday, collecting a single and getting hit three times. The University of Virginia product came into the game having been hit by only two pitches in 215 plate appearances this year. … Righty Enmanuel Pinales made his first start since joining the Storm in July. The 22-year-old, who signed out of the Dominican Republic in January, 2022, loaded the bases with one out in the first, but got a pair of strikeouts to avoid any damage. He allowed just one more hit while working up to 54 pitches before giving way with two outs in the third. Pinales opened the year in the ACL, getting tagged for a .323 opponent’s average. However, in 10 scoreless innings with Elsinore, he’s allowed just eight hits and posted 13 strikeouts. … Javier Chacon, who came off the IL after missing just over three months, allowed one run over two innings in relief. The Cuban lefty walked two, continuing to fight his control as he has all year. In 16 innings, including 9.2 on a rehab assignment in the desert, the 20-year-old has walked 19.
